525,600 Minutes
by lifeisveryshortsoami
Summary: How many minutes does it take to fall in love? Sequel to Things Chad Dylan Cooper Will Never Do.


So...This is the prologue for my newest story!

I know Sonny With a Chance isn't really very popular right now, and I know a lot of the fans have fallen away. If you still watch the show though (or remember it, for that matter), maybe you remember me as well. I used to write stories for swac all the time, including but not limited to: Crush of the Week, Bottled Under Love's Labyrinth, Caught After Love's Fall, Because Our Valuable Information Never Ends, Operation: Fake Date, Living Without You, Numbers, C is for Challenging, S is for Sanity...

...And, of course, Things Chad Dylan Cooper Will Never Do

Things CDC Will Never Do was the first piece of Fan Fiction I ever wrote. For those of you who haven't read it, I recommend you do so before starting this story. See, while Things CDC Will Never Do was an episode-by-episode guide, it branched off from the TV show quite a bit, especially during the final episodes.

For those of you who have read Things CDC Will Never Do but need a re-cap: We all know by now that Demi left Disney channel after the second season of swac. Well, I needed a way to tie that in with my story as well, so I did it by pretending she was going off to college. She and Chad parted ways, Sonny to return to Wisconsin, Chad to join the cast of So Random for their final season. Please don't forget about Chad's car accident (it'll play a major role in this new story)

525,600 Minutes begins a year and a half after swac ended.

Still feeling confused? Well, that's why there's a review button. Hit it, ask me your question, and I shall be more than happy to answer it for you!

An update about my life (for anyone who's interested. Which, I know, is probably no one): Life hasn't been easy lately. I've been going through a really rough time. I don't want to give out too many details, but I will say this much: make sure, when the time comes that you start thinking about getting married, that you really sit down with your boyfriend/girlfriend, talk to them one-on-one, and find out what kind of a person they really are. Don't rush into anything just because you want to - and don't take this the wrong way - but don't get married just because you want to hop into bed with someone. Make sure you love them with your whole heart and that they deserve you.

Anyway, I should probably get on with the story now.

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot **

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_Chad Dylan Cooper didn't spot her right away._

_ According to his watch, it was 2:15. Everyone knew 2:15 was the perfect time for a fro-yo break. Two hours after lunch, four hours before dinner. There was plenty of time to snack on something and still be hungry enough for a meal later._

_ Chad wasn't really paying attention as he glided across the crowded commissary. When he spotted the heavyset person filling a tray with fro-yo's, he took it for granted she was an employee. Why else would she need an entire tray of food?_

_ "Excuse me," he said, without really looking at the girl. "Miss, when you're done with that order, I'm going to need an extra-large chocolate."_

_ He didn't pay attention to her response, something about not working there which made no sense whatsoever considering her outfit. A few seconds later, when she had the audacity to bump into him, he had no choice but to finally give her his attention. No one walked into Chad Dylan Cooper and got away with it._

_ "Oh, my gosh…I know you!" she exclaimed, and Chad felt his anger dissolve, the same way it always did when he met a new fan. "You're Mackenzie on 'Mackenzie Falls'!"_

_ That was when he recognized her. The enthusiastic brown eyes, the huge smile that was almost too big for her face…he'd spied on her a week ago, when she first stepped foot inside Condor Studios. She was Sonny Munroe, the newest inhabitant of Chuckle City._

_ "And apparently you're Madge," he said, feigning innocence. This was supposedly his and Sonny's first meeting. He shouldn't know her name yet._

_ The conversation dragged on. Sonny introduced herself and Chad traded her an autograph for her yogurt. He heard her shouting at his retreating back – "Chad Dylan Cooper just stole my yogurt!" – but kept walking anyway. _

_ He had no idea he'd just stolen food from his future girlfriend._

_ The cafeteria faded away and Chad found himself sitting in his dressing room, alone. Someone was knocking on the door._

_ "Come in," he called out timidly. _

_ His back was facing the door, but he could see her reflection in his mirror. He paused, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things._

_ Sonny Munroe was standing in his dressing room._

_ More than a year had passed since their initial meeting, and Sonny was far from being just 'the newest inhabitant of Chuckle City'. Now, she was one of the most important people in Chad's life, the exception to all the rules he'd spent a lifetime building. She was also leaving him so she could attend college back home in Wisconsin._

_ "Let's get one thing straight before you take off, Munroe," he said, springing from his chair and closing the distance between him and Sonny. "You can be as mad at me as you want to about our break-up. You can even blame me for it if you want to. I don't care. I used to care, but now I don't. You're leaving so I guess…I guess there's no reason for us to even have this conversation. What does it matter?"_

_ He was lying through his teeth. Of course, he still cared about their break-up; it hadn't been his fault. He was trying to help by ordering the re-count and instead of acting proud of him for fixing everything, Sonny decided it was time to terminate their relationship._

_ "It does matter, Chad," Sonny argued, grabbing his wrist before Chad could turn back to his mirror. "Every conversation we've ever had matters. Don't you get that?"_

_ Chad stared at her, one eyebrow raised in the air. "Don't I get what?"_

_ "That I'm only leaving because I love you too much!"_

_ She threw her arms around his neck and, without giving Chad a chance to say or do anything that could stop her, she pressed her lips against his._

_ It was like the world stopped. All Chad could think about was how great it felt to have Sonny in his arms again, to kiss her like there was no tomorrow. He wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He ran his fingers through her hair, cupped her cheeks, touched every inch of skin that he could. He wanted to remember everything about this moment. Everything about Sonny was special and he never wanted to forget the way she could make him act like the world's biggest fool just by looking at him with her big brown eyes. _

_ The moment ended faster than Chad expected it to. Sonny stepped away, placing a hand over her blushing lips._

_ "I need to go," she stated firmly, maybe more for her sake than Chad's._

_ "No!" Chad protested, taking her hand in his. "You just said you love me!"_

_ "I do love you. I just…We're not ready for this yet, Chad. We're not ready for a relationship like this. We think we're in love, but are we really? We're so young and I can't help but wonder if maybe our hearts grew up before the rest of our bodies. Maybe we can make this work someday, but that day isn't today. We both need to grow up and figure out who we really are before we can commit to something this…this powerful. You'll stay here and work on your acting. If we're meant to be together…Well, it'll happen if it's meant to happen."_

_ Chad's body grew numb._

_ "This is it," he said softly, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "This is really goodbye then."_

_ "Not forever," Sonny assured him. "It's just goodbye for a few years."_

_ She hugged him, but Chad knew better than to hold on too tight. The harder he held on, the more it would hurt when she forced him to let go. This, saying goodbye to a girl who he was supposed to hate and had been stupid enough to fall in love with instead, was the hardest thing he'd ever needed to do._

_ "I'll miss you," Sonny meekly whispered._

_ "I'll miss you, Sonshine," Chad promised, kissing her cheek one final time. "More than you'll ever know."_

_ Sonny disappeared at the same time as his dressing room, and Chad was surrounded by darkness. It took him a second to realize it was the middle of the night. He sat behind a steering wheel, his foot pressing down on a gas pedal, an empty pizza box in the passenger seat. The radio was blaring; he had no idea what song was breaking his eardrums, but it was loud and angry. The louder the singer shouted, the harder Chad pressed on the accelerator. He'd always had a problem driving while listening to the stereo. He tended to speed up or slow down with the music._

_ There was too much on his mind as Chad flew down the seemingly abandoned road. Sonny's sweet, innocent smile. How her hair smelled of strawberries. The way she always knew exactly what to say. That feeling he got every time he kissed her, the one he'd never felt with another girl, the one that kept him crawling back to Sonny no matter how many fights they had. _

_ The knowledge that he would never kiss her again._

_ In hindsight, Chad wasn't sure how it happened. Somehow, his car drifted into the other lane. By the time he finally noticed the headlights – in his defense, they were awfully dull – the semi-truck was too close. If his music had been turned down, he would've heard the warning the truck gave him as the driver pressed on their horn over and over again…_

_ The last thought to cross his mind before everything went black was this:_

_ 'I love you, Sonny.'_

_ But in the end, it didn't matter how much Chad loved Sonny, because she chose to leave him. She moved to Wisconsin and wouldn't answer her phone when he called her, wouldn't reply to even one text message. Considering the distance between them, sometimes Chad felt like his little Short-stack had never existed._

_ The dream would end eventually. Chad could already feel his body waking up, see the images fading, just like they always did when he reached this part. He would see the semi, hear the squealing tires, and then he would wake up in his own bedroom, covered in sweat. Not because he was afraid of the accident that had sent him to the hospital eighteen months ago, but because he'd lived through it._

_ Surviving the crash meant Chad had to live whatever time he had left without Sonny. Whether he had another second, another minute, another week…It wouldn't matter. Sonny was the one thing that gave his life meaning. Acting was great and his adoring fans never ceased to amaze him, but what was the point in spending his days in front of a camera if Sonny wasn't around to hang out with when the tape stopped rolling?_

_ Chad wished he could make the dream last forever. Who cared if it ended with a stupid car accident? At least he could see Sonny whenever he wanted to. _

_ Because the truth was, even if Chad used 525,600 minutes to do nothing but try to win Sonny over again, he wasn't sure he could do it._

_ According to his doctor, he'd get the chance to try that theory soon enough. _


End file.
